Happy Homemaker Monday

Welcome! Pull up a chair, grab your mug of coffee or tea and enjoy a quick bit about my life @ home. :)

The weather in my neck of the woods: Hot and thunder-stormy. Feels like I've heard thunder the last 4 nights!!!

Things that make me happy: FREE things @ the grocery store...courtesy of coupons and BOGO's! This week I got: a sponge, a box of Pedialite mix, a Carefree product* and two bags of cat food. (I don't even have a cat...but, they were free!)

Book I'm reading: Little Women...still.

What I'm enjoying on TV: Ugh. nothing...

On the menu for dinner: From scratch Mac n' cheese & sweet potato fries! Yum!

On my To Do List: Mounds of laundry after a week of VBS & family visits, mop kitchen floor, finish painting from porch room

New Recipe I tried or want to try soon: Oooh ooh I have two to share! Sunday we had Taco Salad & Key Lime pie and both of them were fab! This will make this post SUPER long, but, I have to share -

Taco Salad

-2 T. lime juice (fresh)

-3 garlic cloves, minced

- 1 1/2 t. cumin

- 1/3 c. olive oil

- 1lb. ground beef

- 1 T. chili powder

- 1 T. tomato paste

- 1/2 c. water

- 2 hearts romaine lettuce, shredded

- 2 tomatoes, chopped

- 4 c. corn tortilla chips, broken into 1 in. pieces

(optional - 1/4 c. chopped cilantro)

1) Combine lime juice, 1 t. garlic, 1/2 t. cumin, 1/3 c. oil and salt/pepper to taste in small bowl.

2) Brown beef, breaking up clumps with wooden spoon. Add remaining garlic, cumin and chili powder and cook until fragrant. Stir in tomato paste & water - simmer til thickened. Remove from heat, season with salt/pepper to taste.

3) Toss lettuce, tomatoes and chips with lime juice dressing in large bowl. Divide salad among plates and top each with meat mix. Sprinkle cilantro.

Key Lime Pie

4 lg. eggs, separated

1/2 c. key lime juice (from 12-14 key limes)

1/3 c. sugar

14oz. sweet cond. milk

graham crust
1/4 t. cream of tartar

1) Preheat oven to 350. In med. bowl, with mixer, beat egg yolks until lemon colored. Blend in milk. Gradually add lime juice. Pour mix into pie shell and bake 15 mins. Remove and cool on wire wrack.
2) In med. bowl, beat egg whites with cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in sugar until stiff, glossy peaks form. Spread over pie, making sure to overlap the sides of crust to create a seal. Bake 15 mins. Cool and then chill 2 hours.

In the craft basket: Reupholstering (sp?) my rescued bench from Sal. Army!

Looking forward to this week: Bridal shower @ church Tuesday, seeing the teens again Weds. and then Sushi with a friend Friday night!

Tips and Tricks: Load the dishwasher right away... or they just pile up and turn one job into two.

My favorite blog post this week: I'm really enjoying Stacy's posts on Your Sacred Calling. (at the bottom of the "Friends I follow" list.

Favorite Photo from last week: {the Key Lime pie... my 1st one!}

Lesson learned the past few days: I can't "control" my daughters behavior... but I can control what I do with her behavior.

On my Prayer List: All the newborns in church, my brother serving overseas & the upcoming summer events for the teens.

Devotionals, Scripture Reading, Key Verses:
I'm still working on my study in Esther - interesting book. Right now I'm learning all about the historical context and seeing what a mess of a time Esther lived in. Still amazed at how God could use that time and place, and people, for His glory!